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maddox22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Death
daffodildyke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
i love the lia storyline ending, in the sense it is the perfect tribute to ophelia and the way she is written out of the original play. her continued presence throughout this retelling is lovely in that sense and her link with flowers could have felt forced but doesn’t.
queer hamlet and horatio is so important to me, my entire teenage personality was basically based on it, so don’t get wrong, i am so glad to have read it there as clear as day, but it didn’t feel fleshed out enough, it didn’t feel like it does their complexities justice.
parts of this retelling felt arduous and unnecessary and these really detracted from the strong parts.
i think there is obvious love and care in this book, from the approach to addiction and suicide, to a love of hamlet. but i feel disappointed that all i have ever wanted is a queer, neurodiverse hamlet… and i don’t want to devour this book again and again.
i think partly, the issue will always be that i have my own hamlet retellings that live rent free in my head and will never make it to paper, so nobody else’s can live up to those, and it isn’t fair for me to expect them to.
i didn’t dislike this book, but i didn’t love it as much as i hoped and that feels worse in some ways. but i am grateful to the author for putting her hamlet retelling out into the world and confirming what we all know: hamlet is queer and neurodiverse and mentally ill, deeply in love with both ophelia and horatio, and at times, an insufferable pain in the ass!
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Suicide, and Death
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Self harm
mslaura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide attempt
raeshala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
amym84's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The King of Infinite Space is probably one of the best Hamlet retellings / adaptations I've ever encountered. Lyndsay Faye did such a fantastic job of bringing this story to a modern timeline, but also keeping the heart of the original play fully intact.
I appreciated that Faye dropped in more Shakespearian Easter eggs I think the choices in characters was really indicative of those same characters having this almost supernatural quality about them in their own plays, and they bring a little something extra to this story. They were all right at home here. Not really wanting to go too in-depth because I fear that will ruin some of the surprise twists that Lyndsay Faye played with in this iteration.
I thought that Ben (Hamlet), Horatio, and Lia (Ophelia) all pulled their weight in terms of each getting their own points of view alternating throughout and really commanding their sections. Ben is really a character to be reckoned with - the titular "King" if you will - but I felt like Horatio and Lia both hold their own up against Ben's undeniable frenetic energy.
This story took me a little longer to parse my way through and not because I wasn't engrossed, but mainly because the words were so important that I took my time with each sentence and phrase especially where Ben was concerned where asides and breaks were par for the course. I feel like in being so careful to take in each word I really feel like the story has left it's mark and will be one that I continue thinking about for a long while afterward.
This one is definitely my favorite by Lyndsay Faye. I'd honestly love to see what she can do with other works by the Bard.
If you're looking for an engrossing updated spin on one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, The King of Infinite Space ticks all the boxes and then some.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt